What it takes to build, state by state

A plan is the same document everywhere. What changes is how much gets built where you are, who reviews the drawings, and what the ground and the weather ask of the house.

Every US county, from Census permits

Detailed notes for six counties

Builders on the siteBrixton Development: Affiliated with Build This Plan. Follows the same introduction rules as every builder: your details reach it only after you say yes.

Counties with detailed notes

Six counties around Houston, where the first builders on the site work: who reviews the plans, the soil, windstorm, and the Census permit line.

House plans for clay soil Which counties require windstorm certification Flood zones and elevation certificates

Montgomery County

11,597 new homes permitted in 2025, average permit value $287,000

No windstorm requirement · 1 builder on the list

Expansive clay across most of the county, with sandier soils north and east. A geotechnical report and a foundation design sealed by a Texas PE are standard practice here, and Tex. Occ. Code 1001.056 pulls slabs on expansive soil out of the private dwelling exemption unless the slab meets the adopted IRC standard.

Brixton Development, affiliated with Build This Plan.

Permitting, soil and builders in Montgomery County

Harris County

16,940 new homes permitted in 2025, average permit value $317,000

No windstorm requirement · 1 builder on the list

Expansive clay throughout, with the worst movement on the west and southwest sides. Foundation design sealed by a Texas PE is effectively mandatory inside the city and strongly advisable everywhere else.

Brixton Development, affiliated with Build This Plan.

Permitting, soil and builders in Harris County

Liberty County

1,010 new homes permitted in 2025, average permit value $192,000

No windstorm requirement · 1 builder on the list

Mixed. Expansive clay in the south and west, sandier ground toward the north. The soil report matters more here than almost anywhere in the metro because the variation inside a single subdivision can be large.

Brixton Development, affiliated with Build This Plan.

Permitting, soil and builders in Liberty County

Galveston County

2,521 new homes permitted in 2025, average permit value $278,000

Windstorm certification required · 0 builders on the list

Coastal soils with high water tables and, on the island, significant elevation requirements. Pier and beam or elevated construction is common and often required.

Permitting, soil and builders in Galveston County

Chambers County

562 new homes permitted in 2025, average permit value $273,000

Windstorm certification required · 0 builders on the list

Coastal prairie clay with poor drainage in much of the county. Drainage design is usually a bigger line item here than the foundation itself.

Permitting, soil and builders in Chambers County

Waller County

339 new homes permitted in 2025, average permit value $261,000

No windstorm requirement · 0 builders on the list

Expansive clay with sandy pockets. Acreage builds here are usually on septic and often on a water well, both of which need to be designed before the slab.

Permitting, soil and builders in Waller County

US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025. Permit values are what builders declare and usually run below the full cost to build.

What these figures are, and what they are not

For every county, the count of new single-family homes permitted in 2025 and the average value builders declared on those permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. An average from fewer than 10 permits is left out.
A permit value is what the builder declares to get the permit. It usually runs below the full cost to build and leaves out the lot, so read it as a rough low guide, not a price.
A ZIP is placed in the county that holds most of its land (US Census ZIP to county file). A ZIP on a county line may belong to its neighbor.
Soil, permitting and windstorm notes are written only for the six counties above. Everywhere we show the Census figures and nothing we cannot source, so no cost per square foot.
Builders and pros list free anywhere in the US and are matched to a lot by distance from their own business, so a state page lists who is based there, and a lot ZIP finds who covers it.